Replies

Netizen, I am going to take a crack at answering your question with a question: When Adam and Eve sinned, what did God do to cover their sin?

Answer (I believe): he slew an innocent animal and gave them a covering. Notice that God could have made a garment of cotton, hemp, or anything. But the fact that blood was shed (for the first time) is significant. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The act of God was a foreshadow of the great sacrifice that God would one day make of of Himself to save all of us from our sins. The Bible says, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22, Leviticus 17:11)

Jeremiah 31:2 Thus saith YHWH: the people that were left of the sword have found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I go to cause him to rest.

God promises the descendants of Israel who, through captivity, exile, and intermarriage with Gentiles became assimilated and inculturated Gentiles today that they will find "grace in the wilderness".

The exile mentioned in Isaiah

From the JPS (1917) Jewish Bible Tanakh
8 In full measure, when Thou sendest her away, Thou dost contend with her; He hath removed her with His rough blast in the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be expiated, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherim and the sun-images shall rise no more.

Their exile was their atonement.

NO BLOOD WAS SHED

"Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22, Leviticus 17:11)

Hebrews is wrong. Leviticus 17:11 does not say that the ONLY means of forgiveness is the shedding of blood. It says dont eat blood. The only purpose of blood is atonement....it is not a food to eat.

There are many non-blood means of atonement in the OT (Tanach)